of a cooperative learning strategy for serving both low-achieving and learning-disabled students. Seven teams of teachers were trained in complementary roles, teaming skills, and cooperative learning to work with an experimental group of 21 LD and 24 low-achieving elementary and secondary school students.
Measures of student achievement in reading comprehension, mathematics computation, and mathematics reasoning indicated that the cooperative learning approach resulted in significant gains when compared to a control group of students taught with the traditional model. Experimental group students also expressed more satisfaction with the social climate over time than did pupils in the control model. Teachers saw such benefits as more time for feedback, more interactions with each other, and more positive attitudes.
More current studies also support the benefits of cooperative learning, especially in the area of elevating LD students' self-esteem and academic achievement levels. In this regard, Brandt (1995) examined the effectiveness of cooperative learning versus traditional non-cooperative learning on the self-esteem and academic achievement of 74 urban high school students in grades 9 12 with learning disabilities in self-contained mathematics, English, English as a Second Language, Spanish, and science classes.
Brandt (1995) stated that the study was undertaken because existing research had established that traditional teaching methods in which students worked individually or competitively often do not work with children with learning disabilities, resulting in low self-esteem and limited academic achievement. As a result, Brandt stated, too many students with learning disabilities are not prepared to meet the demands and challenges of the Twenty-first century.
In Brandt's (1995) study, six experimental classes were taught the regular high school curriculum in each subject area using cooperative learning and ...